Rogers RetreatChapter 1

Many of the more well to do in the little town of Waterloo looked down on the Rogers family as did many of the not so well to do. There were many different reasons for this attitude, but they all had some bearing on the family's way of life and physical characteristics. The men were short, wiry, towheaded, thin faced men. They all had prominent adams apples and their voice had a distinct southern whine. It didn't help at all that they came from a poor hardscrabble background. Grandfather Rogers and his daddy and his daddy's daddy all worked a poor hill farm deep in the Tennessee hills. They didn't even know there was a depression until the rich politicians told them and sent the TVA into the hills to steal their farm.

Of course, it wasn't really stealing, they took the land "legally", citing eminent domain and using a lot of other fancy words. After all, they were going to pay for it, even if it was a pittance. Seems as if the family farm that bordered the river was right smack dab in the middle of where the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) wanted to put a lake. They said it would benefit the whole United States and old Mr. Rogers had to give up his farm for the good of all.

Great grandfather Rogers was in his 90's when the TVA came calling, and Grandfather Rogers was no spring chicken. He was 43 when the ruckus started. He and Great grandfather Rogers said no damn Washington Politician or any of his toadies were going to run them off the land the family homesteaded and fought Indians for. It just wasn't going to happen. Every TVA bastard that came to the place was ran off, some by gunfire. The local sheriff fared no better. Luckily Grandfather Rogers was in the Marines during WW I with the district congressman and was able to call in a favor. Grandpa Rogers retired from the Marine Corps after 27 years in 1934. He lied about his age and went into the corps when he was 16. He taught his son and grandson all about hand to hand fighting and shooting. They also learned woodsmanship and about living frugally off the land from birth.

Even with Congressional pull the TVA still took the old house and barn and almost all the farm. What was left though, what grandpa's friendship with the congressman allowed them to keep, was enough for the family to live on if they worked in town. They fought and managed to keep a large island in the middle of the new lake and a small thirteen acre plot of ground on the shore besides. The island from the high water mark to the tip of the highest point consisted of another seven acres. Out of a total of 180 acres pre-TVA the Rogers kept those two little pieces of ground. The island at one time had been the highest point on the Rogers' farm. It still was but now it was completely surrounded by the lake. None of the Rogers men really liked working in town and only did so when it was do that or starve. They raised some very skinny children. They also raised some extremely tough fighters.

Since they no longer had enough land to farm (and admittedly the farming was damn poor even before the lake went in) the Rogers family made do with other kinds of work, not all of which was completely legal and above board. For example they found out they could carry their corn to market much easier in liquid form. They also found they could make more from their small crop if it was liquefied so they did so. The conversion of corn to liquid began before the prohibition and continued every year from then to the present. Naturally, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms frowned on this endeavor and routinely sent agents tromping in the woods in an attempt to prevent the conversion of the Rogers' corn to liquid form. Many of the neighbors liquefaction operations were found and destroyed by the BATF but not once did the Rogers ever lose a still or any product.

Hunting was another area where the Rogers men and those in authority disagreed. The Rogers family hunted to eat whether the game was in season or not. They felt the same about fishing. If they wanted fish, venison, or other wild game they went out and got it, season or license be damned. Again, they had to match wits with those who tromped the woods to catch them violating the fish and game laws. They were routinely successful in this endeavor as well as the liquefaction of their corn.

None of the Rogers men were interested in formal schooling of any kind. Grandfather Rogers quit school in the eighth grade. Lee Rogers' dad finished high school but only because of the kindness of his teachers. His cumulative grade point average was only 1.3 out of a possible 4. Lee Rogers didn't do much better. He finished high school with only a 1.96 out of 4. What most people around Waterloo didn't realize was how highly educated the Rogers men were. They hated formal schooling but excelled in reading and self teaching. Grandpa Rogers and Great Grandpa Rogers insisted, nay beat into their systems, that a man learned the 3 R's and continued to learn throughout his life. All the Rogers men read voraciously and kept a dictionary by their side to look up words they didn't know. Of course, the reading came when they couldn't find anything else to do, preferably outside.

The Rogers men were much happier tromping through the woods hunting or fishing than studying. They worked when they could find work but it was mostly unskilled labor here and there. The rest of the time they spent growing and converting corn to white lightning, hunting, fishing, trapping or just loafing around. Lee, named after his great grandfather's hero General Robert E. Lee was sort of an exception. Lee loved the outdoors but he also loved internal combustion engines. He was a maestro when it came to diagnosing and repairing older gasoline engines. He worked on everything from the smallest air cooled lawn mower and chain saw engines up to truck and tractor engines of all types. Unfortunately, like the other male members of his family he had trouble keeping a job because of the hunting, fishing, and (GASP) moonshine. Yeah, he helped his pappy make it as well as drink it. He even helped deliver it from time to time. The revenuer's hadn't caught on to the fact he ran shine yet.

When Lee graduated high school he was already working part time at a small gas station and garage on the edge of town. It was one of the few small independent service stations and garages still in existence. They sold a few snacks and soda pop but none of the other items the newer convenience stores stocked. What snacks they stocked were more for the convenience of the employees and few customers than for stock in trade. Of course, the older local men that seemed to congregate to visit and kibitz most afternoons purchased a lot of the snack and drink items also. These men were the main reason there were so many rickety chairs scattered around the "waiting area" of the garage and tire shop. In addition to the service station there was a large auto parts store in the building. They made more money selling parts than anything else although flat repair was a large part of their business also. They delivered and that was one of Lee's jobs there also. That is how he met the woman that got him into trouble and ultimately how he met the woman that was to tame him and rock his world.

One hot sweltering summer day Lee was underneath old man Stover's old 78 Chevy pickup replacing the starter when his boss Jimmy hollered for him. "Hey, Lee, get your ass out from under that truck and deliver these parts over to the Chevy garage," he said.

Lee glanced out from under the old truck into the sun beaten dirt lot outside the garage. Sweat was beading on his forehead and running down his face. His shirt was wet with sweat. They still worked in open bays with no air conditioning. Today was the worst heat they had in a while and Lee looked forward to the drive so the hot air could dry his sweaty body somewhat. He said, "OK. Ya want me to do it now or can it wait a while? I got another ten minutes or so here and I'll be done with this one."

"No, get on over there now. They have one they promised would be done tonight and they need the parts ten minutes ago."

Lee climbed up the steps from the pit he was standing in. He left his work light and tools where they lay. His face was dotted with dust that had turned to mud in the sweat. His arms were covered with dirt and grease to his shoulders. There were smudges of grease on his face from where he wiped the sweat off. His once white T-shirt was wet with sweat and covered with mud and grease. To look at him you would think he was maybe fifteen or sixteen instead of the nineteen year old young man he actually was. He stood 5' 7" in his sock feet and weighed 117 pounds dripping wet.

Lee didn't even bother to wash his hands or arms after he walked into the parts store. He wiped his hands on his already filthy blue jeans, grabbed the invoice to double check the parts in the box then picked up the parts box and ambled out to his old F150. He threw the box into the front seat. He climbed into the cab and turned the key. After the engine roared to life Lee sat for a moment listening to the rumble. He smiled and tapped the accelerator to make the engine rev higher. The old truck burbled with a deep throaty sound as the exhaust moved through his flow masters. Lee moved the gear shift into first and gently let out the clutch as he depressed the accelerator. He barely slowed as he drove out of the parking lot and into the light traffic on the street. His left arm was resting on the window opening, the tips of his fingers barely touching the steering wheel. He quickly and efficiently moved through the gears until he was running about ten miles above the speed limit in fifth (high) gear.

The old 1994 F150 4X4 looked rough. The once beautiful candy apple red paint was fading. There were rust spots showing through in several places. Almost every body panel had at least one dent in it. The rear bumper was bent into the right rear fender where the truck had backed into a large tree on one trip into the woods. The tailgate would barely close because of the dents in it. Now that the engine and brakes were in tip top shape Lee was saving money to begin repairing the body of his baby. After the body was once again sharp he would redo the interior and fix the air.

Lee drove through town, windows open and stereo blaring out Country and Western music. It was Friday afternoon and he was trying to decide whether he wanted to spend the weekend camping and fishing on the family island or if he wanted to shave his three day collection of thin whiskers off and go to the local dance hall. He was under age to drink but he still managed to get inside most of the time. If he got inside he could usually talk someone into buying him a few. He usually had to pay, but what the hell. He got some drinks and if he was really lucky he could find some drunken pussy and get his ashes hauled. Sometimes he even managed to tap two different cunts the same night or even spend the night with one of the barflies. Usually the ones he spent the night with were married and their husbands were off gallivanting somewhere on their own but Lee didn't care in the least. He reasoned if he didn't tap that married pussy someone else would. They were out hunting cock after all and if they wanted to step out on their old man he might just as well get the pussy as someone else. Besides, most of the married ones only wanted cock. They weren't looking for commitment and dating. That was fine with him. He wasn't ready for marriage and all the headaches that brought.

Lee drove into the lot at the dealership and up to the entry door for the garage and parts department. He shut his old truck down and pulled the box toward him. After he got out of the truck he picked up the box of parts and sauntered cockily into the building. He moved to the parts counter and dropped the box on it. Lee didn't even look up before he dug into the box for the invoice. Lee heard someone walk up to him and looked up in surprise. It didn't sound like old man Stevens. His eyes opened wider and his mouth dropped open. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen was standing in front of him. She was his same height or maybe an inch taller. She had the most beautiful eyes and her perfect little tits were filling out her T-shirt magnificently. He couldn't speak for a moment and that was strange in itself. Lee was one of those men who had a motor mouth. He always had a line of patter to pass out and this time he was speechless.

The young woman looked at Lee for a moment then sighed. When Lee still didn't speak she snippily asked, "Can I help you?"

Lee finally got control of his mind and voice. "Uh, yeah, I got some parts here for ya." Lee pushed the invoice toward her and continued, "Ya need ta sign here for em."

The woman looked at him then said, "Who ordered them and what job are they for?"

"Hell, I don't know. You all called and ordered them and I brought them here. I just need you to sign for them and I'll be on my way now."

"I am not signing anything until I'm sure we actually ordered these parts. I have to know what job they are for so I can check to be sure you brought the right parts and so I can charge them to the right job."

"Listen, sister, how the hell do I know what job they're for? I just deliver when you all call in an order." Lee was beginning to become angry with the little bitch. She acted as if she was better than him and wanted him to know his place. Lee let his legendary hot temper flare up. He reached for the box of parts and pulled it back toward him. He said, "Listen, Bitch, I don't need your shit. I brung tha parts ya wanted. If ya don't want to sign fer them then I'll just take em back and you can go fuck yourself."

Mr. Stevens was coming out of the office when he heard Lee let loose. He cringed and hurried toward the parts counter. Lee was already leaving the building when the parts manager walked up beside the woman. He yelled, "Wait, Lee, there's been a mistake here I'm sure. I called and ordered some parts. Can you please bring them back so I can sign the invoice?"

Lee stopped and resignedly returned to the counter. He glared at the red faced woman standing beside the parts manager then slammed the box down on the counter once again.

Stevens glanced at Lee and felt a twitch in his stomach. He recognized the look on Lee's face and hoped he wasn't too late to prevent more unpleasantness. Lee didn't win many fights because of his size, but when his temper flared he exploded. He didn't think Lee would injure a woman but he sure didn't want to be here when his temper flared any higher than it already had this afternoon. He had seen some of Lee's tantrums and more than a few of his fights. Lee won maybe one or two out of five fights with other boys and men but even when he lost the opponent wasn't sure that he had won. They were always hurting badly and many times they missed a day or two of school or work after Lee finished with them or after they finished with Lee as the case may be. Lee was so tenacious in a fight that many men and boys now went out of their way to avoid making him angry enough to fight them. He had a reputation much larger than he was.

Todd, the parts manager, put his hand on the girls shoulder and said, "Lighten up there, Sandy. This is Lee from the NAPA parts shop here in town. I called the order in to them a few minutes ago. We don't normally tell them what job the parts are for so he can't tell you."

Lee watched as the beautiful woman's eyes tightened and her lips compressed. She glared at Todd and jerked her shoulder out from under his hand saying, "My name is Sandra. You know I expect you to call me that or Miss Blessant. How many times do I have to remind you of that?

Todd grinned and winked at Lee then walked over to the phone sitting on the end of the counter. He reached for a note pad beside the phone and picked it up before returning. He walked back to where Lee and Sandy stood and showed her the pad. He said, "I usually leave the pad beside the phone with the job information, mechanics name, and the parts I ordered on it. If you feel the need to check the delivery you can usually find the parts list there but there's really no reason to check. If they bring the wrong part or we don't use one of the parts we just return it. They're only fifteen minutes away so it's no big deal if we have to reorder. Hell, it takes us that long or longer to get a part from our inventory sometimes."

Sandy glared at Todd and Lee then took the pad from Todd. She pulled the box toward her and began removing parts from it checking them against the part number and item name ordered. After she was finished she pulled the invoice toward her and angrily signed it then thrust it back toward Lee. Just before she took the parts into the back for the mechanic she gave Lee an angry look then turned to Todd. She said, "I was told one of my jobs here was to insure we billed parts correctly to the specific job and to make sure inventory was correct and accurate. I intend to do just that."

Lee watched as she flounced off angrily. Her B cup titties were bouncing nicely. He was positive she was not wearing a bra. Her absolutely perfect little ass filled her designer jeans to overflowing. Even considering her snippy attitude he felt his cock twitch. Yeah, he decided he needed to go to the bar tonight and find some pussy.

Todd gave Lee a sickly grin and said, "I'm sorry about that Lee. She's a snippy one for sure. She's the boss's daughter and makes sure we all know it. She's been living with her momma out in California but is spending the summer here helping out before she goes to college. I'll try to keep a short rein on her, but I would appreciate it if you could ignore her attitude if you run into her again."

"Well, I'll try, but if she gets in my face we'll rumble Todd. You know I don't take shit from nobody." Lee glanced at the clock over the counter then continued, "I better get on back. I have ta finish old man Stover's truck before I can quit today then I need to get home quick and clean up. Here's your copy of the invoice. Thanks."

Todd laughed and said, "This must be your night to howl then. Heck, I figured you would be heading out to fish this weekend."

"Thought about it but decided I needed to get my ashes hauled instead. If I'm lucky tonight I may go on out to the island sometime tomorrow. Hell, if I'm really lucky maybe I can find some pussy to take to the island with me. Catch ya later."

About eight that evening Lee pulled into the parking lot of Buster's, a local beer bar and dance hall. When he climbed out of his truck into the dusty parking lot a couple of the older women in the lot glanced at him and smiled. Lee smiled back and said, "Howdy, ladies. You all sure do look good tonight."

The women took in his highly polished but worn boots, starched jeans and pearl button western shirt. His black cowboy hat just topped off his spiffy appearance. Their eyes sparkled and both their pussies dampened. They had both been with Lee several times in the past and were each hoping to sample him once again this evening.

After Lee disappeared into the building Sylvia looked at Brenda and said, "Damn, girlfriend, I sure am glad to see him here tonight. I been needing dick bad and he sure has what a girl wants. I'm gonna get me some of that tonight if I can."

"Yeah, me too. He's sure a skinny little fucker. If I'd not felt it in my pussy my own self I never wouldda believed he was packing that thick eight inch piece of man meat between his skinny legs, and, my God, who'd a thought someone as young as he is could use it like he does."

The women smiled at each other once again and followed Lee into the smoky bar. They stopped just inside the door and looked over the room. They spotted their friends along the right side near the dance floor. Lee was already on the floor dancing with Janey.

As soon as Lee took Janey back to her table Brenda walked up to him and handed him a beer. Lee took the beer and Brenda stepped closer to him. She gently rubbed her hand across the bulge in his crotch. She looked into his eyes and smiled, licked her lips and raised her eyebrows. Almost instantly Lee's cock surged to full arousal. He grimaced when it became bound up in his pants and dropped his free hand to rearrange it. Brenda laughed gently and said, "Something bothering you there, cowboy?"

Lee put his partly empty beer bottle in his right front shirt pocket. He took Brenda's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor while she giggled. They danced two dances all the while moving slowly toward the rear of the dance floor and the hallway to the restrooms. When the second song ended Lee took Brenda's hand and pulled the giggling woman down the hallway and out the emergency exit that was propped open for better air circulation.

Lee led Brenda to his truck and pressed her up against the lowered tailgate. She stood leaning back on the truck with Lee standing between her splayed legs. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her blouse out of her skirt. After that he ran his hands under her blouse and began playing with her unfettered breasts while they kissed and writhed against each other. Brenda wrapped her legs around Lee and pulled him toward her with them.

After several kisses Lee pulled one of his hands from under Brenda's blouse and unzipped his pants then released the waist button. He was wearing the pants commando. When they dropped to his ankles his hard cock sprung free. Lee raised Brenda's skirt and slid his hand up her soft thigh to the crotch of her thong panties. He moved in for another kiss while he gently rubbed her pussy lips then inserted his finger into her moist center. She was wet, she was ready. Lee pulled the crotch of her panties aside and moved closer until his cock nudged against her leaking cunt hole. He wiggled his hips until he felt the helmet of his cock sink slightly into Brenda then placed both his hands on her hips. He stared into her glistening eyes and thrust his hips forward.

Brenda's eyes opened widely and she gasped when she felt Lee's cock surge into her. She bit her lower lip and put her hands on Lee's hips. When she felt his next thrust begin she pulled his hips to her and thrust her hips toward him. She moaned and grunted when his entire eight inches slammed fully into her. Lee pressed himself deeply into Brenda and gently began rotating his hips, massaging her clit. Brenda moaned and leaned back on her arms. She pulled her legs tighter slamming Lee into her as deeply as she could. She wrapped her legs around Lee's hips to pull him into her as deeply as she could on every thrust.

The two lovers moved rapidly together slamming against each other over and over. All that could be heard was the slap, slap, slap of Lee smacking into Brenda's crotch and their grunts and moans. Their passion was building as they each rose rapidly to their orgasm. Finally, on the same thrust Brenda screamed out her completion and Lee grunted deeply as their orgasms tore through them. Lee stood savoring the feeling of shooting into Brenda's rapidly pulsating cunt. He continued to gently thrust and rotate his cock inside her. Finally, his cock softened enough to slither out. He looked down in the dim light and watched a couple of large globs of his semen ooze from Brenda's pussy and down her splayed thighs onto her ass cheeks. He wiped his cock off on the inside of her denim skirt. Lee shuffled back a step and pulled his pants up then fastened them.

Brenda was still leaning back on her arms savoring the feelings of her recent fuck. She watched Lee finish dressing and said, "Damn, Lee, I wish you was seven years older. I'd divorce my old man and take up with you full time."

Brenda hopped off the truck and tucked her blouse back into her skirt. She moved to Lee and cupped his face with her hand. She gave him a gentle kiss and said, "I better get back inside now. My old man's probably looking for me."

Lee felt his stomach lurch when Brenda said her husband was inside. Damn, when he saw her and Sylvia in the parking lot he figured they were here alone. Shit, what if her husband caught them? He was a big bastard. There was no way he could win that fight. He decided it was time to go out to the island and spend the rest of the weekend fishin'. Lee wasn't afraid of Brenda's husband per se, but he had much too high a regard for his strength and fighting ability to want to mix it up with him if he could help it. The edge was off his need for pussy and he decided it was time to go fishin'.

Lee watched Brenda walk back into the bar through the back door. He was sure she would hit the ladies room and clean up before she returned to her husband but could she clean up enough to hide what they did? He was sure he filled her with a pretty big load. He hadn't shot off in five days.

Lee finished the beer that was still in his front shirt pocket then tossed the bottle into the bushes beside the parking lot. He burped and climbed into his truck. As Lee pulled toward the exit from the parking lot he saw a familiar face. A beautiful woman had her arm wrapped around a tall well built man in his early twenties. Lee knew the man also. Andrew and Lee had fought twice. Both times Lee came out a very poor second. Lee pulled beside the couple and yelled, "Hi, Sandy. You sure look good tonight."

Sandra stopped walking and turned to glare into the truck at Lee. Her face contorted. Her fists clenched and she said, "Asshole. You know my name is Sandra. I told you this afternoon you should call me Miss Blessant. Don't you ever use any other form of address for me!"

Andrew stopped and turned to face Lee also. He moved to the truck and slammed his hand into the metal of the passenger door. "You little asshole," he snarled. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut or I'll have to kick your ass again. Now you apologize to Miss Blessant right now."

"Fuck you Andy. I'm outta here and you're the asshole. For that matter so is your little Bitch miss high and mighty Sandy." Lee revved his engine and popped his clutch. His tires spun in the gravel of the lot as he shot out of the driveway onto the highway. He looked into the rear view mirror and laughed while he watched Andy and Sandy dance around and curse. They were peppered with the gravel and dust his truck threw up when he left. They coughed from breathing the billowing dust his spinning wheels threw up. From his expression and rapidly moving mouth Andy was giving Lee a sound cursing.

Lee stopped by the local grocery store and picked up some Coke, bread, and breakfast food as well as a bag of potatoes, some onions, and several cans of Bush's Grillin' beans. From there he drove to the mainland part of the farm where he parked his truck beside the dock on the lake. Lee rapidly transferred his food and drinking supplies into his boat. After he was loaded he pushed off heading for the island in the center of the lake.

While Lee was wiling away the weekend drinking his corn liquor and living on illegally taken game and fish on his family island Sandra and Andrew were plotting his downfall. They were two of a kind and felt their honor demanded they retaliate for the disrespect he showed. All Andrew could come up with was to kick his ass again.

Sandra said, "No, that isn't enough. Besides, you could get into trouble for fighting too." She sat a moment longer while they traded several kisses and a couple of fondles.

Sandra pushed Andrew away when he bent to suck on her naked breast. He looked hurt and started to ask her what the problem was. She placed her fingers gently on his mouth and said, "I think I have it! Didn't you tell me that whore Lee was fucking is married? Why don't we make sure her husband finds out about Lee and her? You said he was big and jealous. Wouldn't he do something to Lee for us? Then we could make sure Lee knows we caused him to get caught."

"That might work. If we word it right and maybe even get some rumors started about her and the other women he is fucking we might get several of the husbands and boyfriends after good old Lee. Yeah, I'd like to see the little shit get what's coming to him. I've put up with his arrogant attitude for much too long. Little shit and his family are nothing but trash and they try to lord it over us like they're as good as we are. Something like that would sure put him in his place. Hell, he might even end up in jail for fighting, or even better, the hospital or dead. Yeah, I like it."

Well, I wouldn't mind seeing those things happen to Lee but I sort of hate the thought of those other men getting arrested. I mean, after all, they are the injured parties in all this. It was Lee and their wives that were screwing around and disrespecting everyone."

Andrew barked out his sinister laugh and looked at Sandy in shock. He said, "You're kidding, right? Hell, those assholes aren't any better than Lee. They're just plain white mountain trash. Besides, most of them are getting a little on the side, too. There probably isn't one of them that isn't guilty of something and most of them have an attitude as bad as Lee's. They all think they're as good as we are. No, the idea of them getting arrested or injured in itself isn't a bad one.

Andrew and Sandra spent the next several hours making love and planning Lee's downfall between sessions. They began their whisper campaign the next morning. Sunday morning at church they threw the campaign into high gear. By Monday evening most of the community knew about Lee's secret liaisons. Of course, many people already knew about his proclivity to screw any woman he could get in the right position. Hell, even the cuckolded husband's knew Lee was a player. They all frequented the same bars and had seen each other hitting on women there. They just didn't know their wives had fallen into Lee's web until Sandra and Andrew began their campaign. Of course, the two cell phone pictures they had of Lee fucking Brenda and the one of him fondling Sylvia and one of him and Janey petting heavily just sealed the deal. The three husbands of those women got together and decided to do something about Lee before they taught their cheating bitch wives a lesson. Brenda's husband did apply his meaty hand to her face in a painful slap before he left home to look for Lee, but the rest delayed the onset of the punishment they planned to hand out to their women.

Tuesday morning, when Lee arrived at work, he was met by three angry men smelling of booze with anger and fury shooting from their eyes. Barry, Brenda's husband, easily the largest man in town got to him Just as he was turning to close his truck door. He yelled as he pushed Lee from the back knocking him into the seat of his old F150. "You little asshole. We hear ya been fuckin' our wives. Well, we're gonna fuck ya up some ya little shit. You'll never mess with another man's wife when we get through with you. In fact, you'll never mess with another woman period. We're gonna cut yer balls off and feed them to ya."

Lee had glimpsed the three men just before he fell and felt the fear surge through him. Even before Barry spoke Lee was afraid he knew why they were there. He had fucked each of their wives several times and feared what was coming. Now, he was glad he was sloppy with his tools. Instead of putting his lug wrench and tire iron away when he changed his all too common flat tires he just threw them in the front floor board of his truck. He let his arm slide off the seat and picked up the tire iron.

Lee slid down and twisted around to face his attackers as soon as he had the tire iron in his hand. He felt the truck door bounce off his right chest and side as one of the men slammed it into him. Lee staggered leaning his back against the truck while he tried to get set for the coming altercation. He saw one of the men standing to his left and in reach. Without thinking he swung the tire iron as hard as he could hitting the man in the shin. He heard the snap of the breaking bone and the man fell to the ground screaming. Lee stood and stepped back toward the rear of the truck.

Barry moved toward Lee once again with his fists raised. He saw the tire iron too late. His try to block Lee's blow was completely unsuccessful. Barry screamed and bent forward in pain when the half inch metal impacted his balls. Lee and the other man danced back to clear his fall. As soon as he was on the ground Lee gave him a mighty kick to the head as hard as he could.

Now Lee only faced one assailant. Janey's husband looked at his two friends on the ground then looked at Lee with fear evident on his face. How could that little fucker take out two men almost twice as big as he was so fast? Barry lay unmoving with blood running from his nose and mouth mixing with the dust in the parking lot. His other friend was writhing on the ground moaning and holding his broken leg. Lee warily watched the man still standing as he began to approach him from the side.

Janey's husband made a lunge toward him and Lee jumped back. As he did so Lee tripped over Barry. Lee fell but kept his hand on his tire iron. The man smiled and moved in to kick Lee. Lee felt unimaginable pain when the first boot hit him in the side. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and moan from the pain. Instead he tried to control his automatic reflexes and move to the attack. He rolled slightly and swung the tire iron as hard as he could toward Terry. He heard a sharp crack and the tool was almost knocked from his hand.

Terry screamed and grabbed the leg he had most of his weight on as he fell to the ground. He was writhing and cursing as he stirred up the dust. Lee slowly stood and looked down at his attackers.

Lee was moving slowly and painfully. He could barely stand from the pain of his numerous injuries received from the kicking men. It was obvious none of the three offered further danger to Lee. Lee was trying to decide whether to get in his truck and run, call for help, or see if he could help the three men. The decision on what to do for the combatants was removed by the noisy arrival of two patrol cars.

The first officer out of the car stepped toward the group of men and said, "OK, that's enough. Lee, drop that tire iron right now." Porter looked at the police cars and began to move toward his car parked at the back of the lot pulling himself with his arms while he scrabbled in the dust and gravel. The officer glanced at him and said, "Porter, you best just stay right there, too."

The officer glanced at the other two men on the ground and turned to his partner. He said, "Ya better call an ambulance. We got three men down here. Looks like they're hurting pretty bad."

The injured men were transported to the hospital. Lee was transported to the local jail. All three injured men were charged with disturbing the peace and assault and battery as was Lee. Since there were no witnesses other than the combatants it was almost impossible to determine whose story was accurate. All four men were known rowdies. Finally the Judge fined the three men who attacked Lee and sentenced them to time served.

Lee stood in court facing the Judge to hear his sentence. The last time he stood before a Judge for fighting he was told if he ever came again he would be jailed. He was nervous and angry. He was almost bouncing from nervous energy. The Judge looked solemnly at Lee and said, "Robert Lee Rogers I warned you last time you appeared before me that I was going to sentence you to jail time if you were back in my court for brawling. I have been prevailed on to moderate my sentence somewhat however. I will give you a choice today. You can enlist in the Army or serve six months in the county jail for your offense. What will you choose?"

Lee stood stunned. Six months! Or go in the Army? Crap. That wasn't much of a choice. The Judge sat looking at Lee with a stony expression on his face. Finally, he said, "Well, son, what will it be?"

Finally Lee clenched his jaws and looked at the Judge. He said, "Neither, Your Honor. If l have to do one or the other I'd rather go into the Marines if it's all the same to you, sir. That's where all us Rogers men folk go when we go to the service. I can't disrespect them by going into the damn Army."

The Judge's gavel fell and he said, "So ordered. If you join the Marine Corps or Army and complete one full enlistment your record will be expunged. You have two weeks to present the court with proof of enlistment or your sentence to County will be enforced. Court adjourned."

As he was walking down the aisle to exit the courtroom Lee saw a smirking Andrew and Sandra sitting in an observation bench. Sandra grinned when he came near them and hissed, "You got lucky there asshole. Next time you disrespect your betters we'll come up with a better punishment."

Lee felt his anger flair. He started to lunge toward Andrew but caught himself. It was all he could do to walk past the two gloating young people. He vowed their time would come. He would never forget they were the ones who caused his last humiliation.